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(Vulture Culture) Taxidermy tips?

(Vulture Culture) Taxidermy tips?
Posted 2022-02-21 23:54:09
#670771
Hi! Im a "New old" member of Vulture Culture! I have been into the taxidermy and stuff for years but I just never got to practice, and I was wondering if anyone had some tips? Im slowly getting practice in and I wanted some tips from other peeps who did it? My mother had suggested that I could do some work on a older dog of hers named Gracie, I would love to work on cleaning Gracie up tho she dosent want the fullbody just something from her even if its a little toe bone as she said, I was thinking maybe her skull or a few teeth and a rib bone or something? I never really liked this dog but I know how much the dog met to her so im willing to take a shot to do some vulture culture taxidermy on the pupper, I also have some other animals I found all hit and killed by trains, three dogs (2 huskie, one small) a cat and a bunch of possums but yee, I was atm looking for more of bone cleaning tips and soon I would love to work on stuffing some birds and mount them as a gift to my grandpa who does bird photography
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#10923
Posted 2022-02-26 16:10:57
#677213
I can definitely help with bone cleaning and preserving some things through salt and borax. I've never attempted actual taxidermy as I haven't had the opportunity yet to do so, but it's a lot more involved of a process. It can all get a bit graphic though so I'm not sure if it's appropriate to talk about here. 😅 One thing i have to say thought, if you're in the US or UK, You'll want to be aware of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA for short). Most birds are protected and you can get fined a hefty sum for possession of any part of them without licensing. Even just a single feather you found on the ground. Where I live, European starlings, house sparrows, and pigeons are the most common unprotected birds, and the only ones I have parts of. I have lots of bones from sheep and goats from a farm that raises them, and lots of rat bones from when that farm had a pretty bad spike in rat numbers. Ive also got quite a few pinned insects, they're one of the things I've found are easiest to work with. All of my stuff is from animals I found already dead.
🐇 Hawthorne 🐇
#59068
Posted 2022-02-26 16:13:20
#677222
Ty! I live in the US and I pay close attention to the laws on it, ive seen some graphic things well doing some taxidermy so im okay with talking about it but yee it may be best in DMs! :D
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#10923
Posted 2022-02-26 16:23:28
#677233
Thats good! I've seen lots of people find a dead bird and decide to keep some feathers, and then see people telling them it's a bad idea, but they don't care and do it anyway. 😒 Bone cleaning is probably the least intense, assuming you're not working with a fresh dead. It's also what I've done the most of! That, and preserving lots of pigeon wings and legs from the leftovers from cats. If you're wanting a guide for bone cleaning or salt and borax preservation, I can write something up for ya! Im also happy happy just talk about them too 😂 My most recent find was a roadkill cat. It was so strange working with her, since she looked so much like one of my cats, and my boyfriend and I decided to name her Amethyst.
🐇 Hawthorne 🐇
#59068
Posted 2022-02-26 16:35:26
#677242
I keep my own birds feathers all the time, I have a few peacock feathers somewhere too! I do get fresh stuff but I leave it out to rot and my huskies ill be getting if there not ready soon im gonna burry them in my backyard so they rot faster and that would be great if you wanted! :o I had saw a roadkill cat but I refused to do work on it because I couldnt get it for one and two it was a stray cat I had been feeding for a few months
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#10923
Posted 2022-02-26 16:42:19
#677245
Oh yeah pet birds are totally fine to keep feathers from, I have few parakeet feathers from a friend's birds, and I got an entire peacock from someone once after it died from unknown causes. Unfortunately he was very young, so it's sad that he died, but also sad that he didn't have the big tail yet. I'd recommend maceration over burying, or if you do bury, bury them in a container so you don't lose anything like teeth or other small bones. I've got both the cat and an opossum in containers right now, but given that it's below freezing most of the time still, they haven't gotten very far into decomp yet. I'll write up a little guide for bones, hopefully it won't be too long 😅
🐇 Hawthorne 🐇
#59068
Posted 2022-02-26 16:46:17
#677247
Oooh! I mainly have medium sized parrot feathers (I use to have a macaw tail feather!) like senegal parrots, conours etc! And that might work a bit faster and be smarter since my dogs might dig it up back there-- And that'll work! Take your time! :D
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#10923
Posted 2022-02-26 17:02:52
#677256
Okay so for getting clean bones, there's a few ways to go about it.

If the dead is fresh, you can start by skinning and removing as much flesh as possible to speed up the process, or you can skip this.

Then, you have three options, but I'd recommend a container for all of them.
1.) Burial. Pretty straightforward, bury the dead in soil. I recommend a container the most here, to avoid losing small bones and to avoid forgetting exactly where it's buried. This process can take a long time, but I'd say check on things every couple weeks at first, then every month or so when it starts slowing down.
2.) Leave it out. You're probably most likely to lose bones with this options scavenging animals pull pieces off and drag them elsewhere. However, if you wrap the dead with wire mesh or put it into a cage of sorts, only smaller animals or insects will be able to get to it. This is my preferred method as it's what has worked the fastest for me, maggots will make quick work of anything. It's typically a matter of days to weeks rather than weeks to months. If you skipped skinning, you'll likely end up with skin and tendons dried onto the bones, but that can be solved with the next option.
3.) Maceration. Put simply, maceration is leaving the dead in an airtight container filled with water. This one undeniable produces the absolute worst smell and I'd advise against this option if you live in a populatd area. I'd also advise against wearing any clothes youd prefer to not permanently smell like death if you plan to open the container. I may sound like I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. You'll want a container big enough to hold the dead and give an airtight seal, but not a ton of extra room. You want it to be airtight because the bacteria that will be doing the work are anaerobic. Every couple weeks, dump half the water (I sometimes call it the "soup") and refill. This prompts the bacteria to reproduce and leaves enough in the water that it doesn't slow the process. If you have something that has very little flesh or has decomposed almost fully already, the smell will be much less overbearing.

Once you have bones cleaned of any skin, tendons, and anything else, you can move on to step two, degreasing. There's a few ways to do this, but the most popular is soaking the bones in a mixture of water and dawn dish soap. I've heard the blue soap can sometimes stain the bones, but I haven't had this happen to me. You also may need to repeat this step a few times if you have particularly greasy bones.
What you want is a container big enough to hold the bones. It doesn't need to seal, but I'd recommend it to avoid spills. I haven't worked out a ratio of dish soap to water, but enough to turn the water a slight tint of whatever color the soap is has worked for me. What I do is stir up the soap so it's not just sitting in the bottom, and just leaving the bones in for a few days. Then, take the bones out and let them dry fully, which could take a long time. I just leave them out for 24 hours. If there's any yellow or otherwise discolored splotches, there's still grease in them and they need a few more days. If the water is cloudy, replace it. Repeat this until there's no longer discoloration on the bones.
From here, you have clean bones! However, if you want them to be white, you can soak them in hydrogen peroxide. The 3% kind you normally find is gentle enough that it won't damage the bones, and strong enough that it will whiten them. I haven't whitened any bones, but I'd recommend checking them every day or so until they're at your desired level of whiteness.
If you ever notice any discoloration after this, just repeat the degreasing step and potentially the whitening step if it leaves stains.

The two things you never want to do are boiling the bones to remove flesh, and using bleach on the bones. Boiling will make the bones weaker, and bleach can cause them to become brittle and flaky.

I think thats it? If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer.
🐇 Hawthorne 🐇
#59068
Posted 2022-02-26 17:17:00
#677262
I use ammonia and water to degrees by bones but let them soak for 1-2 weeks to a month before taking them out and drying them to go onto whitening, I never personally whitend my bones tho since I like the natural look
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#10923
Posted 2022-02-26 17:21:44
#677266
I never whiten them for the same reason. I've read diluted ammonia is good for degreasing, I just haven't used it since I'm pretty clumsy and I'd rather not risk spilling harsh chemicals all over the place.

On a different note, I think my favorite vulture culture related possessions would be my butterflies. I have two male monarchs I found dead in the grass last fall, as they naturally die after just a few weeks of being butterflies. I also have a tiger swallowtail that I have in a shadowbox along with plants I gathered and dried myself. :)
🐇 Hawthorne 🐇
#59068
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